Facebook: 5 Things NCAA Programs could steal from the NBA

We've spent the past 7 weeks or so checking out the best digital marketing practices from the NBA. The question for this week is simple but powerful: what does this mean for college basketball marketing? What are the best practices we've seen at the NBA level, that college programs should take into consideration?

I'll do my best to answer this question over the course of a few posts. Here's the 3 part plan of attack:

Monday 6.14: Websites (Read this one by clicking here).

Today: Facebook

Friday 6.18: Twitter

Then, next week, we'll return to our breakdowns of the NCAA Tournament landscape.

Ready?

5 Things NCAA Basketball Facebook Pages could steal from the NBA

1. Timing is Everything

The Lakers have an enormous footprint on Facebook, here, with nearly 1.1 Million fans. But to me one of the reasons they have grown so big is they recognize the value of what they have in front of them.

Moments after Ron Artests put back pretty much sealed the fate of the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Championship, the Lakers posted a gallery of photos from that play. The result? An ignited fan base.

NCAA Impact: What can you offer, in real time, that others can't? If you can answer this question you create a reason for fans to follow you -- checking back early and often.

2. Leverage Exclusive Access

The Minnesota Timberwolves (linked here) offer you not just timely information but they go behind the scenes. As you can see in the gallery below (or here), they offer you the chance to go back stage as they workout prospects before this month's NBA Draft. You can't get that information anywhere else, and as a fan... wow.

The LA Lakers take post practice media sessions and cut them into tiny chunks that are easy to share on Facebook. See below (or here)- they offer the chance to watch inside access, quickly, in the comforts of your Facebook feed.


NCAA Impact: It's not about how much you share. It's about finding something you get to see or hear that no one else does, then offer that up to the fan base. Is it an exclusive interview? Photos from a team meal or the bus? This isn't about fanciness, it is about impact.

3. Get More Mileage from your social media car

One of the biggest arguments against using Twitter is the statement that not everyone is up on Twitter and, thus, not everyone could participate in this. As you can see in the link here, the New Orleans get after this in a very innovative way! Pay close attention to the Share button.

Essentially, the Hornets take their Twitter feed and pull it into a tab inside their Facebook page. Then every Tweet comes with an accompanied "Share" button. So you simply click "share", you get access to your list of friends with whom you can share the latest. Who would have thought there'd be an easy way to effectively re-Tweet inside Facebook?

The LA Lakers take their podcasts and drop them into their Facebook page as music tracks, shown below. I love that you can check out podcasts right inside Facebook -- no need to run over to NBA.com (or iTunes) to find these!


NCAA Impact: Success in Facebook is doing a few things, really well. Look at Facebook as a place to pull in your Twitter feed and your Podcasts/radio shows. And make sure you add in the ability to quickly share what's posted -- taking that step saves your Fans time!

4. Learn from your audience

There's power in the right numbers.... If you learn from them! If you let yourself be vulnerable, you will have powerful results.

The Phoenix Suns actually embed a survey right into their Facebook page, as a tab. Click into it and answer a few questions at your leisure -- it gives the Suns great info to better understand their fan base!

Meanwhile the Portland Trail Blazers want to get better, and are asking their fan base for input, here. They posted a survey to learn a little about who is going to their Facebook page, what else they like, and why they go. This is something great, as the more you understand what fans want, the more likely you are to be able to delight them.

NCAA Impact: Take the time to ask your fans who they are, what they love, and how you can make them happier. The only thing you're out is the fact that you now have suggestions that might cause you to adjust what you're doing -- but that will connect you all to each other in a DEEP way!

5. Show Emotion

Emotion must be deep in Texas!

The Dallas Mavs are pretty active on Facebook. Their fan page is home to 108,000 passionate fans, here. But what I was drawn to wasn't the size of the fan base but rather the personality and emotion in the interactions.

Take a look at the post below. "A story from Marc Stein that everyone who cares about the Mavs should read..." They aren't just sharing links, they are sharing insight and a little emotion. And the fans (50 of them) liked this.

Similarly, I love what the Houston Rockets have going on in Facebook. Nearly 100,000 like the Rockets on Facebook (you can join them by clicking here). There's a lot of great things about the style the Rockets deliver on Facebook, from highlight reels to celebrations for all things good in the franchise. But most powerful to me is the emotion in the communication.

Check this example to accompany their year end highlight package. "Miss the Rockets? Me too. Here's some video of the finer moments in 2009-2010." The result is below. 103 people like it and 33 comment. That's a nice viral stream of activity from a simple post. Great work here.

NCAA Impact: Share passion. Don't be afraid to love your team. Your fans do, and by you showing love, it will remind you all that you are in this together!!!

I hope you've enjoyed this one. Don't forget to tune in on Friday as I take you through the things NCAA programs can learn from the NBA in Twitter. And you can follow me on Twitter -- I'm @pawlow34.